Japan's industrial production rises 0.4% in Feb.

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japan's industrial production rose for the fourth-straight month in February, according to government data Wednesday, though the index is expected to fall sharply during the current month due to the catastrophic March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Industrial production increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.4%, the economy ministry said, beating expectations for a 0.2% month-on-month fall, according to a consensus forecast reported by Dow Jones Newswires. The result was sharply lower than January's 2.4% rise, however. A survey of manufacturers included with the data projected production up 1.4% in March and down 1.3% in April. Transport equipment, general machinery and chemicals were the biggest drivers of the increase, the ministry said.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use.
Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. Intraday data
delayed per exchange requirements. S&P/Dow Jones Indices (SM) from Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All quotes are in local exchange time. Real time last sale data provided by NASDAQ. More
information on NASDAQ traded symbols and their current financial status. Intraday
data delayed 15 minutes for Nasdaq, and 20 minutes for other exchanges. S&P/Dow Jones Indices (SM)
from Dow Jones & Company, Inc. SEHK intraday data is provided by SIX Financial Information and is
at least 60-minutes delayed. All quotes are in local exchange time.